Little White Lies Issue 110

The first time that I encountered a version of ‘Frankenstein’ it was in the form of a stage play too advanced for my susceptible, seven-year-old imagination. Later that night, and then again over the nights that followed, I hallucinated a bald, green-tinged man climbing in through the window of the bedroom that I shared with my younger brother. “Victor… Victor… ” he muttered in a sinister whisper while I lay frozen in my bed, too scared to speak. This unlocked a primal fear that was beyond my capacity to describe. Still, it is not something I have remembered often. On beholding Guillermo del Toro’s counter-interpretation of the cause of my earliest nightmares, I realised that he had resolved a question that most of us don’t dare to explore. He has…

Ever since he was a child, Guillermo del Toro has been fascinated by Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’. The story of a man who played God and his complicated creation has remained a constant influence for the filmmaker. Indeed, for much of his career he has been vocal in his yearning to adapt the novel for the screen, and the kernel of his desire can be seen in films such as Cronos, Blade II, Crimson Peak, The Shape of Water and Pinocchio. Finally, a dream 30 years in the making is being realised: del Toro’s operatic vision of Frankenstein brings together Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi and Mia Goth for a tour de force fairy tale about the human need to reach beyond the possible, and what makes a heart beat and break.…

After being catapulted to stardom with the teen-friendly combination of Netflix’s The Kissing Booth franchise and HBO’s racy drama Euphoria, Jacob Elordi has had a meteoric ascent to the A-list. He’s already got collaborations with Sofia Coppola (Priscilla) and Paul Schrader (Oh, Canada) under his belt, plus a second Emerald Fennell project (after Saltburn) on the horizon as he takes on the role of Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. But becoming Frankenstein’s Creature for Guillermo del Toro was Elordi’s biggest, most exciting challenge yet: a chance to become not someone, but something else entirely. LWLIES: What was your experience with Guillermo’s films before you started talking to him about Frankenstein? ELORDI: My mum used to take me to Blockbuster on Friday afternoons after school, and she let me watch the MA…

Oscar Isaac first graced the cover of Little White Lies in January 2014 (issue #51) for Inside Llewyn Davis, where he delivered a remarkable performance as a rolling stone folk singer trying to return a missing cat. Eleven years later he’s done Star Wars, X-Men and Marvel, and gave a masterful turn in Paul Schrader’s The Card Counter that should have won him an Oscar if there was any justice in the world. At any rate, in Guillermo del Toro Isaac found a kindred spirit, and drew on his love of theatre and melodrama to bring Victor Frankenstein to life. LWLies: I asked Jacob this question too, but it would be great to start by talking about your experiences of Guillermo as a filmmaker before you two had any notion…

One weekday afternoon, Mia Goth picked up the phone. Guillermo del Toro, the renowned Mexican auteur, was on the other end of the line with an invitation for lunch. They met a week later and, just a few moments in, the director made her another proposition: he would like the Pearl breakout to play Elizabeth in his long-gestating dream project, Frankenstein. Goth knew the filmmaker would take the classic Mary Shelley novel and make it “his own”, but what she did not know was that del Toro was going to write his Elizabeth just for her. It is no wonder, then, that Elizabeth fits Goth like a glove. The Brit, whose daring creative instincts have led to her working with the likes of Lars von Trier and Claire Denis, imbues…

THE PLAYERS TAMARA DEVERELL Production designer on Frankenstein, worked with Guillermo del Toro for the first time on his second feature, Mimic, and returned after a lengthy hiatus to make The Strain and Nightmare Alley. KATE HAWLEY Costume designer on Frankenstein, comes from the world of theatre and opera and has worked with Guillermo del Toro on multiple films, including the gothic horror romance Crimson Peak. ACT 1 In Dreams MEETING GUILLERMO Deverell: I first met Guillermo del Toro in 1995 on the film Mimic. And I was working as the art director at that point with Carol Spier, the production designer. It was a tough film for Guillermo, so I don’t remember the exact moment of meeting him, but I remember being struck by him being just such a…